Saturday, May 26, 2012

Listening

It is so rare that we really just listen. I'm not talking just about listening to what someone is trying to say to us but about that we just don't take time to listen to sounds around us.

When Jordan was first home from the NICU, I was so worried about him. They told me "heart problems, mental retardation, and die before age 1," a phrase that I can't get out of my head nearly 8 years later. So when he was first home from the hospital, Mike was with him in his bedroom, feeding him a bottle and talking to him. I was in our bedroom watching tv, but I heard them through the baby monitor and turned it up. I then sat there crying as I heard the cutest little baby noises coming from our little boy and such loving and sweet words from his father. Everything was okay.

A few days earlier, when Jordan was still in the NICU, we were putting the final touches on his room. I took clumps of his new clothes into our bedroom to remove the tags and fold them neatly. Mike was in his room working on the crib. After a few minutes of silence, I heard a very delicate and sweet lullaby coming from the baby's room. Mike had assembled the mobile I had picked out to match the room--a jungle theme with really adorable giraffes, elephants, and monkeys in pastel blue, pink, yellow, and green. Hearing that soft lullaby coming from his room, I felt again, everything was okay.

And right now I'm sitting in my home office editing something on gastrointestinal surgeries, and I hear Jordan and his dad in our backyard sword fighting and playing pirates. Jordan is going to have his tenth surgery in 3 months, and I'm very worried about it and really dreading those feelings when they take him back to the operating room and we're left there to wait for hours upon hours. But right now, hearing them play fighting, jumping around, swords clashing, again I feel like everything is okay.

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About This Blog

The purpose of this blog is to share my experiences raising a child who has some orthopedic impairments. I will share reflections on our journey, from the everyday annoyances with the "system" to the achievements of my wonderful little boy to the life-changing thoughts and feelings he brings to my life.

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THE JORDAN RIVER

The significance of the Jordan River begins when Jacob falls asleep beside it and has the dream of the ladder that goes to heaven. Angels descend and ascend while he is dreaming, as though to say that the power of God, the revelation of God was moving into those waters, making the River Jordan a special place of connection with God. It was as though the river provided the sustenance and the strength that God would have for God’s people. And all through history the Jordan River would water the crops, would provide a boundary for the Kingdom of God, a boundary of safety. It is almost as though it is the vein of God’s power that the people of God could tap....The people passed through the waters of the Jordan to arrive at the Promised Land, a land that was not alienated from God, not far away from God, but a land that was close to God and God’s love. And then there was the occasion of Jesus’ baptism. Jesus walked into the river Jordan. The heavens opened, and the Spirit of God poured into our Lord; and from that moment on, our Lord gave his ministry in this world, healing people, caring for people, providing a willingness to die for people. Likewise, if you would like to have the power of God move into your heart, then you walk into the waters of Jordan, because that is when the heavens open and the power of the Spirit of God moves inside you. From "The Waters of Jordan" by Rev. Samuel G. Alexander